Fireflies
by randomcat23
Summary: It's a warm summer night and Van decides to teach Fiona how to catch fireflies. They leave Moonbay and Irvine at camp with cleanup and the starry sky.


* * *

I typed up this fic with summer in mind. Oh glorious summer. Ahem, the fic itself takes place during the first half of Chaotic Century, just FYI. There's also a very slight Van/Fiona thing.

**Disclaimer:** Breaking news report: randomcat23, in fact, does NOT own Zoids. That is all.

**Edited version, May 11, 2008:** Fix a few spelling errors and moved some words around to make sentences flow better.

* * *

"Oh, Van, look at all the floating yellow spots!"

"Uh, Fiona? Those are fireflies." Zeke roared in agreement while trying to eat one of the insects.

The blonde Zoidian gave Van a blank stare, "Fireflies?" She lowered her hand, "Doesn't the fire hurt them?"

"It's just their name," Van caught one by jumping. Fiona eagerly crowded around his cupped hands. "Look, their butts just light up." The firefly agreed apparently because at that moment he lit up.

"Why do they light up?"

"Oh, well, my mom says they're looking for their soul mates."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"And they're called fireflies?" Fiona looked up at Van like a child looks up at a teacher.

Van shrugged, "Well some people call them lightning bugs, but they're just weird."

"I heard that Van," Moonbay's voice came out of the dark. The transporter was currently at the campfire, drinking coffee with Irvine.

Van and Fiona ran closer to the camp. "They're fireflies Moonbay." Van shoved the insect into her face. "F-i-r-e flies." He dragged out the word as much as possible.

"Lightning bugs." Moonbay retorted while picking up the coffee mug.

"Fireflies!"

"Lightning bugs."

And on, and on it went. Fiona and Irvine watched the verbal war for a few moments. Fiona's eyes flowed back and forth between Moonbay and Van. Irvine blinked every once in awhile; it was the only sign that he was paying attention.

"You know what Van? You go be weird and call them fireflies."

"You know what Moonbay? You go be stupid can call them lightning bugs!"

Moonbay laughed, "That's cute. You have to take my put-down and twist it for your own use. Real cool, Van."

Van growled and grabbed Fiona's hand, "Come on, Fiona. Let's go catch some lightning bugs."

"But I thought they were fireflies."

Van mentally slapped himself and agreed, "Right. Fireflies." The two of them ran off into the trees, leaving the chuckling mercenary with Moonbay.

"That was real mature, Moonbay." Irvine sat back and glanced at her. "Now what are you going to do? You chased Van away, so there's no one to tease anymore."

Moonbay laughed and brushed off the scold, "I believe you're still here." The sun slipped behind the horizon as Moonbay sat next to Irvine. "You're still tease-able."

* * *

The woods had as many glowing spots as did the grass under their feet. It was warm outside, even though the sun had set; it was just one of the many advantages to summer time. Van let the firefly in his hand go as a gleeful grin stretched across his face.

"This is a perfect spot for your first lesson Fiona."

"Lesson?" Fiona turned her head slightly to the side.

"Yes, lesson 101, the proper firefly catching technique."

Fiona clapped, "Show me how, Mr. Van."

Van picked up a stick and jumped up on a rock. He waved the wood in the air, drawing Fiona's attention. "First, you must have the proper catching attire. Almost anything will do." His dark eyes scanned up and down Fiona's clothes and he blushed to himself when he realized what he was doing. Good thing it was dark.

"Ok, Van, now what?" Fiona had patted her shoulders and arms, testing her outfit. "Am I ready now?"

"Hang on, I was getting there." Van waved an impatient hand; he was clearly enjoying his teaching experience. "Shoes are another important part of your outfit. Most of the time it's ok to go barefoot, but in our case," he waved the stick around, indicating the area, "We need shoes to protect our feet."

Fiona promptly picked up her feet, one at a time, and gave Van the 'thumbs up' sign. She had her shoes.

"Ok good. Now it's time for the actual catching part." He jumped down and threw the stick away. "First, find your target." The Shield Ligar pilot pointed at a nearby insect. "Next, make sure to follow its every move!" His head bobbed and turned as the insect flew around. "Finally, raise your hands," Van raised his, "And at the right moment, enclose the bug." He caught the firefly.

"Good job, Van!"

"Thanks, Fiona!" His hands opened and the glowing bug flew away. Van followed it with his eyes until it disappeared in the sky. The stars sparkled brightly above Van and Fiona; it was a beautiful, clear night. "Your turn, Fiona."

"Ok!" Fiona's determined voice mixed with the other summer sounds. Fiona bent her knees into what she thought was a proper position for catching bugs. Her red eyes focused on one, as Van looked on. Suddenly, Fiona sprung up and followed her prey. Moments later, she returned to Van grinned widely. "Look, Van. I got one!"

Van laughed, "Great job, Fiona. You're now a professional firefly catcher!"

* * *

"Hey, I wasn't done with that," Irvine complained as Moonbay took the coffee mug out of his hands. "There was at least another half-sip in there."

Moonbay ignored his ranting; she wanted to clean up before it got too late. Quickly, she stacked all the silverware, dishes, and cups in a neat pile and carried them to a large soapy bucket of water. The next half hour was devoted to scrubbing.

In the mean time, Irvine rested near the fire with his hands behind his head. His grey eyes watched Moonbay with amusement. She purposely cleaned in front of him, hoping he would be a gentleman and help her. Like_ that_ would ever happen.

She rejoined him after finishing up and growled, "Don't eat all those by yourself." He had snatched a bag of cookies that was meant for all four of them.

Irvine popped another one into his mouth and then passed one to Moonbay. "There. You have that one, and I'll just take the rest of the bag."

"That is _not_ what I meant. Van and Fiona will want cookies too."

"Do they even know we have cookies?"

"No, I just picked them up today."

"Well, there you have it. What they don't know won't hurt them," and he ate another.

* * *

"Ok, Fiona, let's play a game." Van waited for her nod before continuing. "All you have to do is pick one firefly and follow it where ever it goes. Who ever can follow theirs the longest, wins. And you can't catch it, that's cheating."

Fiona agreed, "I don't want to cheat."

"Right. Well, pick your bug." Van eyed one a few feet in front of him and then glanced back at Fiona. "Ready?"

"Yes sir!"

Van laughed, "Go!"

The two of them started walking off in different directions. Fiona's lead her across a small creek, which made her jump on several slippery rocks. Van's firefly zoomed in and out of the trees making him work harder than he wanted too.

"I'm going to win, Van!" Fiona taunted as she skipped over a tree root.

"Yeah right, Fiona. I'm the master! You just learned, you don't have the skills."

"Wait and see!"

Van laughed and ducked under a tree branch. It was getting darker, therefore harder to see the bugs. Good thing Van's lit up often. This made him laugh again; Fiona probably had a silly bug that didn't light up. But when he looked at Fiona, she was hot on the trail of her bug, which lit up every few seconds.

"It looks like your bug is getting away Van."

Van didn't reply, but picked up his pace. A squirrel scurried across his path, causing him to stop and stumble. Van jogged to catch up with his bug which decided that it wanted to go back near Fiona and her insect.

* * *

"The stars are really bright tonight," Moonbay commented.

Irvine glanced up and agreed, "Yeah, they are."

With her eyes on the sky, Moonbay pointed suddenly and said, "Look, there's my constellation." The mercenary looked to where she was pointing and nodded. The grouping of stars looked like a large bird.

"What's it called Moonbay?"

"The Dawn Eagle."

"Somehow, it's so fitting," Irvine laughed as Moonbay punched him in the shoulder. "Alright, where's mine?"

Moonbay appeared thoughtful, "Well, what's your birthday month?"

"June."

"In that case, it's that one over there." And her index finger pointed to a constellation on the opposite side of the sky.

"The one that looks like a blob?"

"Yes, that one."

"Alright, so what's its name?"

"The-big-jerk-constellation," Moonbay grinned at him.

"Very funny," the reply was sarcastic, but Irvine laughed, taking away the sting.

* * *

"You're pretty good at this, Fiona," Van breathed as the two of them passed each other.

"Thanks. You too, Van." She spun around and followed her bug back toward Van. Van did a similar move and was now facing Fiona.

"Ah, mine's going higher."

"Mine too!" Fiona reached up. "Come back, buggy."

Van skidded to a stop in front of Fiona; they had almost collided. "Where'd your bug go?" He asked, still staring at the sky, looking for his.

Fiona pointed, "It is right up there with yours." And sure enough, Van's and Fiona's bugs were flying away together, deep into the woods.

Fiona's hand dropped, "Aw, Van. Our bugs must be soul mates! Maybe it means we'll be together forever too."

Van blinked at Fiona and laughed nervously, "Ah, maybe." Fiona turned her head upward and waved at the fireflies. "Let's head back to camp, Fiona. I think Irvine and Moonbay might be looking for us."

"Ok then." The two of them left for the campsite, Fiona a newly trained bug catcher, and Van who had more than bugs on his mind.

* * *

Moonbay joined in on Irvine's laughter. "Got you there, Irvine."

"Oh, hah, hah, hah. Now what's it really called?"

"Your constellation? Well, it really is that blobby looking one. But, I think it's called Twilight Hawk."

"The Twilight Hawk?" Irvine asked and Moonbay nodded. He then pointed at her, "The Dawn Eagle?" Moonbay nodded again. "Who the hell comes up with these names?"

Moonbay snorted, "No idea. Maybe it was the ancient Zoidians."

There was a pause, and then Irvine commented, "Huh, they're opposites, Eagles and Hawks."

"I suppose, but Dawn and Twilight are opposites too."

"Uh huh," Irvine paused, "But they go together too."

"I guess they do, don't they?"

"Yeah." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Looks like I'm stuck with you."

"Stuck with me? Hah! You think we're stuck together because of our constellations?"

"Oh hell, why not?" Irvine smirked. "The ancient Zoidians gave them the names for a reason, didn't they?" His eyebrow was raised and there was a grin planted on his face; both were indicators that Irvine was playing.

Moonbay returned the smile with one of her own, "Fine then." She raised her hand and extended it to Irvine. "Partners?"

"Partners," and Irvine clasped her hand in agreement.

At that moment, Van and Fiona came into view. Fiona waved and Van grinned in greeting. "Well, where have _you_ two been?" Moonbay questioned.

"Catching fireflies!" Fiona responded enthusiastically.

"Get any big ones?" Irvine asked.

"Yeah! And then we played a game and Van and my fireflies were soul mates!"

Moonbay glanced at Irvine and he laughed, "Is that so?"

"Yeah, you should come next time Irvine."

"Hmm, maybe I will. Just so I could find my bug a soul mate too." He grinned and then noticed Van was blushing. "What's up with you Van?"

"Uh, nothing. What made you think that?"

Irvine raised an eyebrow, glanced at Fiona and said, "Oh, just the look on your face. You seemed a bit preoccupied."

"Well, I'm not!" Van stomped to the other side of the campfire and unrolled his blanket. "I'm going to bed," he announced.

Moonbay must have saw Van's face too, because then she looked over at Fiona and an idea sprung into her head. "Hey, Fiona," Moonbay whispered, "Come here." She then whispered directions into the blonde's ear.

"Like this, Moonbay?" Fiona made a face.

"Yeah, just like that. On his cheek now, we don't want him fainting."

"Ok!" Fiona walked over to Van and said, "Good night, Van!" And before walking away, she planted a small kiss on his cheek.

His face immediately flushed red and he yelled, "MOONBAY!"

"Oh, shut up and go to bed, Van. Go dream about your lightning bugs." A devilish grin tugged at the corners of her mouth as she unrolled her own blanket next to Fiona's.

"Fireflies!" Van yelled back. Moonbay laughed.

Irvine got up and walked toward Moonbay and whispered in her ear, "You're completely evil," he grinned.

"Oh, I know, I know," She watched him meander to his own blanket and then fell asleep herself under the summer moon.

* * *

Well, there you have it. As for the whole 'firefly vs. lightning bug' thing, I just threw that in there because people usually use one or the other, not both. I, myself, am a 'lightning bug' person. Which brings me to another question: is it only the male bugs that light up or is it both male and female? (shrug) OH WELL.

Apparently, 'lightning bug' must be from where I live. Not many other people seem to use it. Heh.

Haha. Well, like always, thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated! –randomcat23


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